I always try to handle the Scriptures accurately and adequately. Sometimes this is a fairly straightforward task, but other times, I have to wrestle for awhile with the text. This morning, we’ll be looking at just such a text.

As we go through this passage, we’ll note several different applications, and they’re somewhat all over the place, but I believe we owe it to notice them all.

Turn with me to Genesis 9. We’re finally resuming our Genesis study—it seems like it’s been a very long time!

Noah’s saga began back in chapter six and continues through the end of chapter nine. In chapter six, God looked down upon the earth. God had made the earth perfectly, made man in His image, and placed him upon it. Yet after only a short period of time, it became corrupt.

“Now the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.” (Gen 6:11–12)

This language seems to describe not only corruption among people, but even some kind of corruption among the animals. In order to preserve the world along with humanity, God resolves to cleanse the earth by water. He intends to destroy all living flesh, saving only a few people and animals to repopulate the world.

When God looks across humanity, He finds only one man, Noah, to be righteous. Warning him about the impending flood, God instructs Noah to construct an enormous ship. Noah faithfully obeys and God saves him, his wife, his three sons, their wives, and a litany of animal pairs.

In chapter eight, Noah finally stepped off the ship. He offered a great sacrifice to God—and that leads us right to our text this morning.

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

And the fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.

Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; as with the green plant, I give all to you. However, flesh with its life, that is, its blood, you shall not eat.

Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every living thing I will require it. And from every man, from each man’s brother I will require the life of man.

Whoever sheds man’s blood,
by man his blood shall be shed,
for in the image of God
He made man.
As for you, be fruitful and multiply;
swarm on the earth and multiply in it.'” (Gen 9:1–7)

God blesses humanity.

If you know your Bible, this passage should strongly remind you of another passage, only a few chapters before:

“God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.’

Then God said, ‘Behold, I have given to you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has the fruit of the tree yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that creeps on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food’; and it was so.” (Gen 1:28–30)

God blessing Noah is the first time we read that God has blessed mankind since the creation. And how fitting that is, considering that Noah stepped off the ark into a new creation—a world once again pure and clean.

After destroying the world, God still blesses Noah and his sons. Just as He did not abandon us after we sinned in Genesis three, but instead reaffirmed His love for us, He again teaches the value of human life in His eyes.

Children are a blessing.

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” (Gen 9:1)

This part of the blessing is absolutely identical. God has always intended for people to reproduce and continue to bear life. I want you to realize how especially poignant this statement was to Noah after the Flood. After God just eliminated all other living people from His creation, Noah might well suppose that God is tired of humanity and wants to be done with them. After all, God was the one who said,

“I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I regret that I have made them.” (Gen 6:7)

But no. God tells Noah that He wants humanity to continue to grow and flourish. Just as Cain, Abel, and Seth were symbols of hope for Eve, so also will Japheth’s seven sons, Ham’s four sons, and Shem’s five sons be symbols of hope. They represent the mercy and love of God toward sinful people.

Have as many children as possible.

The world often ponders the question, “Would the earth be better off without humans?” God’s answer is “no”. He did not create the mountains and rivers, birds and fish, flowers and trees for His own amusement. God created the world for us. He provides and sustains the world to care for as many of His children as there may be.

I understand this is somewhat of a sensitive subject. Not everyone is able to have children, whether for physical, financial, or emotional reasons. This is not a command to have children such that failing to do so is a sin; rather, it is a blessing.

The contemporary pagan world in ancient times wanted low birthrates and feared overpopulation. Our modern secular culture is the same way. God does not see humans as a virus, but as the pinnacle of His creation, and He wants us to prosper.

Creation is a blessing.

“And the fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.” (Gen 9:2)

Specifically, God is speaking about animals and the relationship mankind has with them. He places them into our hands so we can care for them and use them in ways that benefit us.

In other words, God allows us to use creation for human purposes

• We are allowed to use the animals God created as work horses, draft cattle, etc.
• He has given us cats and dogs and bunnies to be pets.
• We can use trees for lumber.

These things are not abuses. Instead, they mean that the animals and plants get to fulfill their God-given purposes.

Food is a blessing.

“Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; as with the green plant, I give all to you. However, flesh with its life, that is, its blood, you shall not eat.” (Gen 9:3–4)

“Flesh with its life,” that is, “in its soul”.

In Hebrew, the words for life and soul are the same. The two concepts are intertwined.

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” (Lev 17:11)

This restriction seems to exist to teach respect for life. Although God did not make animals in His image, He did grant to them the breath of life. We may use them freely, but we must respect them and treat them properly.

It seems to me that even today we are forbidden from consuming blood. When the Apostles wrote to the Gentile Christians in Acts 15, they wrote:

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, you will do well. Farewell.” (Acts 15:28-29)

Perhaps these items simply refer to common pagan practices, but I at least feel uncomfortable with the idea of eating blood myself.

However, at the end of the day, the change in Genesis 9 is that God permits eating meat for the first time. It is not animal abuse to have pets or work animals; nor is it cruelty to eat a bacon cheeseburger.

Enjoy the variety of foods God has provided.

Life is a blessing.

“Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every living thing I will require it. And from every man, from each man’s brother I will require the life of man.

Whoever sheds man’s blood,
by man his blood shall be shed,
for in the image of God
He made man.
As for you, be fruitful and multiply;
swarm on the earth and multiply in it.” (Gen 9:5–7)

“from each man’s brother” alludes back to the first murder in Gen 4 —

“Then Cain spoke to Abel his brother; and it happened when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

Then Yahweh said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?

And he said, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’

And He said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. And now, cursed are you from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.'” (Gen 4:8–11)

God here institutes Capital Punishment for the first time. It is a protection for us against evil men. His original plan was to extend mercy, yet it was abused so severely, He chose to implement it post-Flood.

By doing so, He also tacitly establishes government.

“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists that authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of that authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword in vain, for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.” (Rom 13:1–4)